


Turning of the Seasons

by cygnes



Category: Ex Machina (2015)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 14:05:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8059204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cygnes/pseuds/cygnes
Summary: Nathan describes seasonal change in the far north; Caleb tries not to give too much away.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](http://manzanas-amargas.tumblr.com/post/146829803915/nathan-batemancaleb-smith-6-or-11) on my tumblr. Written for [skazka](http://archiveofourown.org/users/skazka/pseuds/skazka) ([harkerling](https://harkerling.tumblr.com/) on tumblr), for the prompts "things you said under the stars and in the grass" and "things you said when you were drunk."

“In winter,” Nathan says, “it’s night all the time. And those full-spectrum lightboxes aren’t worth shit. It’s like putting a band-aid on a severed limb.” He’s not slurring yet, but one more drink will get him there. “Right now, spring, it’s fucking fantastic. Summer’s annoying because it screws with my internal clock, but it’s not as bad as winter. I can get stuff done.”

He’s looking out over the river, not at Caleb. There’s not much pressure to pretend to be interested. He doesn’t have to play the adoring audience because Nathan’s getting to the point where he could make speeches to an empty room.

“What about fall?” Caleb says. He picks idly at the grass, which is short but not mowed. They sit together on the knife’s edge between twilight and darkness. The sun is behind the mountains and the stars are coming out, but half the sky is still lit up blue and orange.

“Fall is… strange. You know winter’s coming, but it creeps up on you. It’s not like spring: you notice the days getting longer, but you don’t feel the days getting shorter the same way. It’s like the walls are closing in.” Nathan reaches for his glass, which now holds nothing but crushed ice. Winter can be hard enough in New York; if Nathan were another kind of person, Caleb would feel bad for him. But Nathan is Nathan.

Ava has never seen the seasons change, Caleb thinks, even though he’s still not sure how long she’s been around. Ava is acutely aware of the dimensions of her room and would know concretely if they grew or shrank.

“You want to stay and watch the seasons change, Caleb?” Nathan says. He leans back on one elbow and grins slyly. “Got a taste for the Scandinavian wilderness? I could get you transferred, easy.”

“Just curious,” Caleb says. His heart is hammering in his chest. He keeps his hands still in the grass. A bird calls in the distance, sharp and sudden. Caleb waits for the moment to pass and hopes that Nathan does not draw any conclusions from his stillness. In the underbrush at the edge of the woods, something small scurries away. He doesn’t see what it is, only the resulting motion of the ferns. The bird calls again.

“I picked a good time of year to bring you here,” Nathan says. He abandons his glass and settles himself on his back. “Maybe it’ll rain before you go. There’s that saying about glass houses and stones, but, man. Watching the rain fall all around you, but not being in the rain? There’s nothing like it.” He closes his eyes. “You’re the guy with the sound bites. Spin me a quote about it.”

“People in glass houses don’t need umbrellas,” Caleb says. The darkness is coming on fast, faster than he expected. Nathan laughs.

“Priceless, dude. Doesn’t make any fucking sense, but it sounds great.” Nathan reaches blindly in his direction and catches him by the ankle. Caleb goes still again, tries to make his stillness relaxed instead of tense. “You want to go inside?”

“Not yet,” Caleb says. He’s surprised to find that he means it. Maybe with different company, he could learn to get a taste for the Scandinavian wilderness.


End file.
